LEOMINSTER -- JoAnn Tunnessen took news that the U.S. Postal Service is planning to end Saturday mail deliveries in stride.

"I think they have to do something to keep costs down. When I think about it, it really isn't that big of a deal," the Leominster resident said Wednesday. "I think doing this is better than constantly increasing the price of postage every couple of months."

The Postal Service announced Wednesday it plans to switch to a five-day a week delivery schedule to homes and businesses beginning in August in the hopes of saving about $2 billion a year.

Mail to homes and businesses would be delivered only Monday through Friday, while post-office-box customers would still receive mail Saturdays. Post offices currently open on Saturdays would remain open Saturdays. Package deliveries would continue six days a week.

With the savings comes a reduction of 35,000 positions in the letter carrier and supervisor positions nationwide, an aspect of the change that made Reyes Medina, 34, of Fitchburg, unhappy.

"I think people should be able to work and not lose work," he said. "If we lose Saturday, it's harder for people to pay their bills on time."

Bill Barlow of Fitchburg said he did not mind the elimination of Saturday services, but he believes there are plenty of other ways to cut costs.

"There's a whole lot of buildings they don't use," he said.

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The Postal Service has advocated shifting to a five-day delivery schedule for years, but has unsuccessfully lobbied a decision from Congress, which had included a ban on five-day delivery in its appropriations bill.

But because the federal government is operating under a temporary spending measure, rather than an appropriations bill, Postmaster General and CEO Patrick R. Donahoe said it is the agency's interpretation that it can make the change itself.

Might Congress try to block the idea?

"Let's see what happens," he said. "I can't speak for Congress."

Christine Dugas, a spokeswoman for the Postal Service, said according to various surveys conducted by the Washington Post, USA Today, The New York Times and Gallup, 70 percent of postal customers do not have a problem with the shift.

Dugas said in its last fiscal year the Postal Service recorded a $15.9 billion loss, defaulted on its $11.1 billion retiree health benefits prefunding payments and exhausted its borrowing authority with the U.S. Treasury.

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, said in a statement Wednesday he was disappointed in the decision, especially because there was no legislative oversight.

"Eliminating six-day mail delivery could have serious consequences for elderly Americans who depend on Social Security as their sole source of income and small businesses that rely on USPS," McGovern said in the statement.

McGovern said he is planning to work with his colleagues on potential legislative remedies, while urging the postal service to reconsider its decision.

U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas agreed, saying in her own statement that the decision is "alarming and underscores the need for comprehensive postal-service reform."

"It is incredibly important that Congress pass legislation that protects the vital postal services that millions of Americans and businesses rely on every day," she said in a statement. "The solution to the USPS's solvency issues must balance the need for regular, reliable mail delivery service with financial sustainability and ensure that the wages and benefits earned by our very capable Postal Service employees are not harmed."

Her statement went on to say that there are numerous common-sense steps that have been laid out in legislation over the past years that would have helped the financial shortcomings.

"Yet, House Republicans have failed to bring USPS-related reform efforts to the floor for a vote," she said. "Today's announcement illustrates why the need for action is so urgent."

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